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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. mark — a grade
  3. field — farmland
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. stock — shares
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. pop — music
  8. squash — the sport
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — goods
  14. field — a subject
  15. mark — a trace
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pop — to visit
  19. squash — to crush
  20. pop — soda
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. stem — to come from
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. field — for sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com